I saw quite a few bikes this year using color-changing LED lights which got me interested in finding out more about the technology. If any of you used LEDs in your build, please let me know. A majority of what I saw - I believe - was rope lighting which changed colors.

Thank you in advance for the help!

Eric the Red

All Devils May Have Horns, I Have Saxophones, So Come and Burn with the Weber!

Depends on what you want to use. You can use strips that change all the LEDs to the same color, or you can get the individually addressable LED strips. The latter is more expensive because of the serial interface and chips needed to address each LED. Without going to Chinese sellers, you can get either at Sparkfun.

The single color strips you can change the colors of by using PWM modulation. This RGB light strip, however, has individually addressable LEDs It is the same kind that was used at the Tunnel of Questionable Enlightenment, albeit shorter (he got 5m runs). Here is some Arduino code for sequencing patterns on that type of strip.

"The essence of tyranny is not iron law. It is capricious law." -- Christopher Hitchens

BBadger - those are the ones - thanks for your help! I did visit the Tunnel of Questionable Enlightenment and was impressed not only by the lights, but the patterns and colors. I'm assuming these effects are accomplished via coding and using RGB strips. I do have a lot to learn, but this has definitely pointed me in the right direction... let the research and conceptualizing begin!

All Devils May Have Horns, I Have Saxophones, So Come and Burn with the Weber!

The strip lighting will look a lot cleaner than the rope lights. Thanks for posting the EBAY link. I attached a picture of the bike from the 2007 burn. All aluminum frame - looks like a one-off custom design. My dad found it in Seattle.

All Devils May Have Horns, I Have Saxophones, So Come and Burn with the Weber!

I need to pick up 12VDC LED rope lights for the trailer. I have 20 feet of AC LED ropes installed for when I'm on shore power. I also installed a 1 meter, 4 bar set of color-changing LED's from IKEA. Got a 12 white LED undercounter lightbar to mount under the cabinet above the sink and stove.

Both the bar and the IKEA CCLED's have 120VAC to 12VDC xfmr's. Snipped off the xfmr, wired to the house DC and voila! Nice lights with no pain. The undercounter fluorescent will be removed shortly. The only thing I'll need the genny for is the AC and heater.

He's a mystery wrapped in a riddle, inside an enigma, painted in hot pants. - SavannahPropane ToysHow to do it wrong:

I just got a rope of battery LED's at menards for $5.00, a 16 foot of solar bulbs for $5.00 and 2 5 foot battery lights for 99 cents. All of the lights are 50% off might go down to 75% after christmas ( crossing fingers)

Merry Christmas to me!

maladroit- Burning Man is like a second job, except you pay to work there.Burning Man is just the pre party for exodus! - fellow burner during exodus

tattoogoddess wrote:I just got a rope of battery LED's at menards for $5.00, a 16 foot of solar bulbs for $5.00 and 2 5 foot battery lights for 99 cents. All of the lights are 50% off might go down to 75% after christmas ( crossing fingers)

Merry Christmas to me!

We will be hitting Target, the solar strings and nets they carry are of decent quality, and they have good battery lights too. We already have a crapload but you can't have too many.

Re: 12 Volt LED [i]Strip[/i] LightsWe’ve recently acquired several 3528 and 5050 strips RBG LED strips from several different vendors, so I thought I’d share some info that might be useful. Although the RGB 3528 strips are usually cheaper, be aware that they are made up of separate red, green, and blue LEDs. This means that if you’re running any color besides red, green or blue, you will see multiple colors simultaneously lit up on the strip. The 3528 strips [i]can[/i] produce various color shades with a remote control… but, only when the light that you see is reflected, and the LEDs on the strip are not directly visible. For bikes or costuming, the 3528 may be less than ideal, but they could work well for under-vehicle lighting or backlighting a sign from a 90-degree angle.On the 5050 strips, every LED is a RGB LED. The color that you select on the remote will appear on every LED in the strip when looking directly at it. 5050 strips generally consume more power, and both the 3528 and the 5050 will consume more power when color variations (anything besides pure Red, Green, or Blue) are used.

LED strips are usually sold in 5 Meter lengths, with either 150, 300, or 600 LEDs per strip. There are waterproof and non-waterproof versions available. Be sure that the strip you order specifies waterproof, is the type that you expect (3528 or 5050), has the number of LEDs that you expect, and is labeled as “RGB” if you want multiple colors.

Many sellers don’t include an AC (or DC) adapter with their 24 or 44-key Remote + controller. I picked up a bunch of random AC adapters at Good Will, and then cut the AC end off, so that they can connect the LED controller to a 12 Volt (8xAA) battery pack. It seems to work well, but don’t expect stellar battery life off of portable batteries. Also, be aware that the controllers that come with the common remotes are only capable of powering one 5 Meter strip of LEDs, without an additional power source. (I fried a controller by (briefly) powering a 10 Meter strip off of a 12V battery pack)

The adhesive backing on most LED strips is pretty weak. I wouldn’t rely on it to hold very well under hot dusty conditions. Double-sided 3M Automotive tape works EXTREMELY well for securing the strips, but can be a bit expensive.

Strips can be cut and spliced at pre-etched cut points, but it is kind-of a pain in the ass. I haven’t mastered this one yet. My best advice is to be sure to scrape off all the plastic coating over the traces before soldering or using quick connects. If you're soldering wire, only strip as much as needed, and make sure that the bare wire is tinned or tightly wrapped to prevent any loose strands from touching adjacent wires or traces on the LED strip. I recommend reinforcing ALL soldered points with 3:1 heat shrink w/ glue… but, be sure to test the primary strip colors both before and after heat shrinking. Don’t leave the heat gun blasting on the strip too long, or you will damage the strip. (I’ve connected strands that worked perfectly before heat shrinking, but certain colors wouldn’t light after) The pre-made quick connectors work “okay” for splicing sections (certainly faster than soldering individual wires), but they are fairly flimsy. YMMV.

I hope this helps!

TL;DR 3528 strips use separate red, green, and blue LEDs to make other colors; RGB 5050 strips can light any color on every LED.

I'm living in China so I have been procuring lighting equipment for friends and our mutant vehicle this year from manufacturing sources over here. I recently bought 100 meters of 12V LED strip lights for a friend's mutant vehicle, in the process also have researched and tinkered with these myself. Generally speaking you should also check the manufacturer's specifications on the website or reel to determine expected lumen output and power input requirements. As a previous poster noted, they are mostly sold in 5M reels and the specifications are mostly notated in meters at least in China. For example, the ones I bought were 12W/meter with a silicon weather proof casing. If the casing is not silicon most likely next year when you bring out your lights you will see signs of oxidation and degredation. I suspect disassembling the lights will be a needless job so I have ponied up for albeit more expensive but longer lasting lights.

In total, the 100 meters of the strip light technically requires a power input of 1200W. Obviously we have to use generator power for this bigger application to convert 110V to 12V. Be careful about the selection of the transforming power supplies. Most of these bigger power supplies have an output effeciency rating which if not carefully considered could affect the lumen output of the lights.

For example, the effeciency of our power supplies is only 85% which means I need a total power input of 1200W + 15% to really get all I can out of the light source, or 1380W. Accordingly we have procured qty 4 of 360W power supplies for a total power availability of 1440W. There is no real reason to have 4 power supplies, other than flexibility with being able to position the lights in connected lengths of 25M, and I couldn't find any other power supplies that were likewise affordable or suitable for the application.

Couldn't attend the main event this year, but was able to make it to the early burn which was a very nice compromise (got the live feed of the Temple burn going right now).

For this of you who made it to this year's burn, what LED infused art, mutant vehicles, bikes, and/or other installations really stood out? I'm looking forward to seeing pictures and getting inspired for 2013!

Hope all of you had a great burn!

All Devils May Have Horns, I Have Saxophones, So Come and Burn with the Weber!